Football

Ramblers grab South crown

LOYSBURG -- The Inter-County Conference South Division championship was up for grabs Friday night, and Windber seized it.

Emphatically.

The Ramblers controlled tempo on both sides of the ball and dominated the second half en route to a convincing 35-6 victory over host Northern Bedford in the conference showdown at Panther Community Stadium.

It was the 100th victory of Windber coach Matt Grohal's 14-year career, but more importantly, clinched the ICC South title for the Ramblers, who improved to 7-2 overall, 6-2 in overall Inter-County Conference play, and 5-1 in the ICC South. Northern Bedford (7-2 overall, and 6-2 in ICC competition) also finished with a 5-1 record in the South Division, but Windber won the section via the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Senior back R.J. Tallion rushed for 151 yards on 21 carries and scored on runs of 1, 37, and 15 yards, while catching a 14-yard screen pass from senior quarterback Lucas Oleksa for a fourth touchdown, for Windber, which rolled up 394 yards in total offense behind an overpowering performance from its offensive line.

The Windber defense did not allow Northern Bedford's offense to score a single point. The Black Panthers got on the board in the first quarter, when senior defensive end Joey O'Brian returned a fumble recovery 19 yards for a touchdown to give Northern a short-lived 6-0 lead.

After that, it was all Windber for the duration of the game.

"They came here and did what they wanted to do,'' Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said of the Ramblers. "They were the more physical football team tonight.

"At the beginning of the season, they weren't shy about saying that they were the favorites to win the conference section, and rightfully so,'' Black added. "But we challenged our kids by telling them about what (Windber) had said at the start of the season. Our goal now is just to keep getting better, and we could see them again in (the District 5 championship game) in three weeks. We just didn't have the answers tonight.''

Grohal downplayed the significance of his 100th career victory milestone, instead focusing on his team's accomplishments.

"It's not about me, it's about the kids,'' Grohal said. "The big thing is that we came down on (Northern Bedford's) field tonight and won the conference section championship, along with setting ourselves up as the top seed for the district playoffs.''

Play of the game: With Windber leading, 14-6 in the third quarter, Tallion swept right end for a 37-yard touchdown run, breaking several tackles along the way.

"I was reading my blocks and doing what I could,'' Tallion said. "Everybody was blocking for me, and their blocking was the key on that play.''

Player of the game: Tallion.

Unsung heroes: Oleksa completed five passes for 112 yards, and senior end Evan Brady caught four of them for 98 yards, giving Windber a nice blend of pass and run on offense. Northern Bedford junior back Ben Clark rushed for 106 yards on 20 carries.

Most vital statistic: Northern Bedford did not turn the ball over, while Windber fumbled it away three times. The Ramblers did fashion a 394 to 171 edge in total yardage, however, and Windber rushed for 216 yards in the second half, as its offensive line took over the game.

"I felt like we were probably a little bit better than they were up front tonight, and we leaned on them in the second half,'' Grohal said.

Windber senior lineman Ryan Grohal: "It's just been a matter of hard work and dedication to the program for our players. Our line comes to work every day, and tries to get better. There are five of us, not just one. I'm proud of these guys.''

Costly penalty: With Windber leading, 14-6 late in the second quarter, Northern Bedford senior wideout Aaron Bowers turned a pass down the middle of the field from senior quarterback Vaughn Schleinkofer into an apparent 52-yard touchdown play that would have pulled the Black Panthers right back into the game. However, a holding penalty negated the score. "If we score there, it might have given us a completely different perspective heading into the locker room at halftime,'' Black said.

Notable: Windber back Bryce Chicarell scored the Ramblers' final touchdown on a 2-yard run with 2:46 left in the game ... Along with O'Brian, Tyler Paris and Wyatt Clouse recovered fumbles for Northern Bedford ... Windber did not need to execute a single punt in the game.

Records: Windber (7-2); Northern Bedford (7-2).

Next week: Windber hosts Juniata Valley; Northern Bedford hosts Glendale.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Windber 7 7 7 14--35

Northern Bedford 6 0 0 0-- 6

First Quarter

NB--O'Brian 19 fumble recovery (kick failed), 6:49.

W--Tallion 1 run (Krause kick), 2:23.

Second Quarter

W--Tallion 14 pass from L. Oleksa (Krause kick), 7:46.

Third Quarter

W--Tallion 37 run (Krause kick), 7:54.

Fourth Qaurter

W--Tallion 15 run (Krause kick), 7:34.

W--Chicarell 2 run (Krause kick), 2:46.

TEAM STATISTICS W NB

First downs 19 9

Total yards 394 171

Rushes-yards 38-282 31-99

Yards passing 112 72

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 5-8-0 11-22-0

Punts/avg. 0-0 3-29.3

Fumbles-lost 4-3 1-0

Penalties-yards 3-20 7-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Windber, Tallion 21-151, Chicarell 7-60, L. Oleksa 4-38, Mash 2-20, Brady 2-8, Benitez-Taylor 2-5. Northern Bedford, Clark 20-106, Snider 2-4, Bowers 1-1, Schleinkofer 6-(-2), Feathers 1-(-3), Cottle 1-(-7).

PASSING--Windber, L. Oleksa 5-8-0-112. Northern Bedford, Schleinkofer 10-20-0-65; Cottle 1-2-0-7.

RECEIVING--Windber, Brady 4-98, Tallion 1-14. Northern Bedford, Bowers 4-30, Pittman 3-6, Clark 1-20, Snider 1-7, Free 1-7, Feathers 1-2.